East Village Riesling Extravaganza

Robert Dentice and his wife Renee hosted a few of us on Saturday night for a spectacular night of Riesling. Six of us drank through an amazing array of Rieslings with some wonderful home-made food (the highlight of which was Renee's black pepper ice cream which elicited as many wows as any of the Rieslings). A truly incredible night - thanks for organizing and hosting this Robert and Renee.

• 2002 Raumland Triumvirat Grande Cuvée Brut 93 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Intense nose with aromas of green apple, lime and minerals over softer yeasty and smoky notes. Savoury in the mouth with layers of white fruits and apples mingled with mineral and truffle flavours over bright acidity and fine bubbles. Finishes long and clean.

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Okay - NOW I get the hype. WOW!

• 2006 Weingut Keller Riesling G-Max 97 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Decanted a day ahead of the dinner. Freaking insane nose that just explodes with minerals. Smells like a rock quarry with flavours of pineapple, green apple, talc and aloe underneath. Absurd in the mouth; glossy in texture and almost weightless with a rocky/gravelly mineral character and an incredible purity and precision to the fruit underneath. Finishes long with incredibly refreshing minty, almost icy sensations on the back. Wow.

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• 2006 Weingut Keller Abts E®.de Riesling Großes Gewächs 95 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  An amazing wine and the contrast with the G-Max is fascinating - this is more expressive on the nose with intense floral aromas, spices, melon and what I can only try to describe as being an almost oceanic character with sea breeze, seaweed and saline notes. Incredibly light and polished on the palate with bright pineapple, melon and lime flavours infused with salty minerals. Finishes long with a sense of glycerin sweetness in the back.

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• 2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich 98 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Unreal nose - how do you describe this? Incredibly expressive and aromatic with bright flavours of melon, pineapple, mango and lime infused with a massive rocky mineral character with notes of pine cones and orange peel emerging with more air. Immense and full bodied yet perfectly balanced and light on its feet with brilliant acidity and precision. Absurdly long finish with the mineral and fruit sensations lingering on in the back of the mouth for a good while.

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• 2006 F.X. Pichler Riesling Unendlich 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This has an explosive nose showing incredibly ripe mango, pineapple and melon flavours over rocky minerals and a little perceptible alcohol. In the mouth this feels bigger and riper than the '07 Unendlich with massive fruit and mineral flavours that echo the nose, but without the same sense of balance and precision. Finishes long with a little glycerin sweetness and hints of honey on the back end.

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• 2002 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Steinertal Flawed

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Very slightly corked with a faint musty note perceptible among flavours of white fruits, yellow peach and pineapple. Still drinkable but lacking the intensity of flavour I'd otherwise expect.

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• 2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Kellerberg 94 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  This tastes like wine made from rocks - all mineral. Shows layers of stones, slate and salts over hints of lemon and green apple across the nose and palate, with incredible Alpine water-like clarity and purity. Bright acidity keeps this very light on its feet, and this finishes long with a sensation of rocks and salts almost dissolving into your tongue. Fabulous.

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• 2007 F.X. Pichler Riesling Smaragd Ried Steinertal 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  Fabulous wine combining brilliant pear, apple and white fruit flavours with layers of stony minerals. With air this picks up smoky and spicy nuances, unravelling more layers with time and finishing long and clean.

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• 1971 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling Auslese

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  AP #36. Started out showing baked apple flavours mingled with honey and some brown spices, but felt old and lacking in acidity. With air this seemed to fall away, picking up some oxidative notes with the fruit fading.

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• 1971 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 94 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  AP #142-4-72. Beautiful deep golden colour. Has an almost sherried note initially that blows off with air to reveal beautiful minty, herbal and tobacco aromas mingled with baked peach and apple flavours. Medium bodied, subtle and elegant in the mouth with more baked apple and peach layered with mint, green herbs and honey flavours. This got better and better with air as some acidity emerged to add lift and the fruit flavours seemed to gain in weight and intensity. Finishes a little light, but an amazing wine to sit down with and explore.

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• 1967 Weingut Gustav Gessert Niersteiner Auflangen Riesling feine Auslese 96 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Clear gold-amber colour in the glass. Stunning nose of earth, honey, saffron, citrus and mandarin orange with leafy and nutty notes emerging with air. Incredibly complex on the palate with burnished apple, citrus and white fruit flavours mingled with tobacco, hazelnut, saffron and brown sugar over surprisingly good acidity. Seamless. Absolutely stunning.

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• 1983 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 91 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  AP #10-84. Clear light yellow-gold colour. Some mustiness on the nose at first, but with a little air this shows a lovely flavour profile of bright green and red apple fruit mingled with hints of smoke and butterscotch over slatey minerals. Finishes with medium length - a lovely, understated wine that needed a bit more attention and time in the glass than what I gave it while moving back and forth between the Rangen/young Rieslings and the old Auslese.

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• 1991 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St. Urbain 92 Points

  France, Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru

  Incredibly pale yellow colour. Tastes as young as it looks, tightly wound and austere initially, but opening out with air to reveal grapefruit, lemon and green apple over savoury smoky and earthy notes and a bed of stony minerals. This is an 18 year old wine?

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• 2005 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 98 Points

  Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer

  AP #05-06, this is the auction bottling. Absolutely stunning nose with perfumed flowers, spices, lime, peach, apple and slatey aromas exploding from the glass. Incredibly vibrant, almost electric in the mouth with brilliant acidity, pure, clear fruit and slate flavours and some honey and spice notes on the back suggesting a little botrytis. The finish is all slate and orchard fruits with tremendous length - spectacular wine.

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• 2001 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese 97 Points

  Germany, Nahe

  Spectacular once again. Combines peach, apple and white fruit flavours with slate, salty minerals, spices and hints of smoke and petrol. Incredibly precise and light; almost weightless in the mouth with a silky texture and a long finish. Fabulous.

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• 2007 Schäfer-Fröhlich Bockenauer Felseneck Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel

  Germany, Nahe

  Dominated by a ton of sulphur. There's a lot of rich sweet fruit underneath and plenty of acidity, but the sulphur obscures everything else here. Has the stuffing and balance to be a stunning wine once the sulphur blows off/integrates.

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• 1999 Wittmann Westhofener Morstein Riesling Auslese 93 Points

  Germany, Rheinhessen

  Full bodied and intense, showing expressive flavours of red fruits, apples, peaches, honey, nuts and flowers across the nose and palate. Creamy in texture with good acidity underneath keeping it in balance and a long sweet finish.

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A truly amazing evening - thanks again for all your hospitality Robert and Renee!